BTW:Was it me or were the clues for the middle words [*1-/9-Across] of zero help? Had to complete the puzzle before realizing what the whole thing was about. Perhaps the virgule confused me; maybe an ampersand instead would have helped. Or "Between 1 & 9- Across."

RATING: Three grins = Loved it; Two grins = Enjoyed it; One grin = A bit bland for my taste; One teardrop = Not much fun

The theme was clever...but I agree that the "middle words" were difficult to deduce. There were many other reasons why I disliked this puzzle: Black squares in two corners, another set of Roman numerals, three brand names (DEWAR, RITZ, SERTA), nine foreign words (ABU, AMARETTI, AMIE, D'ARTE, LOCA, OBEAH, SOLI, TETE, ZED), and two phrases which sound awkward when spoken ("do to" and "let at") and look even more awkward when used in a crossword (DOTO, LETAT). And the answer to "Reliant soul" was TRUSTER, which is a word that I would think applies to the person doing the trusting and not to the person being trusted. Am I correct?

Not sure I get the question, but a person who relies on someone trusts that someone; hence, he's a truster.

As for all that you dislike about this fine puzzle (and others), I wonder why you do Xwords --- unless you enjoy finding faults that do not exist. Brand names and English words of foreign origin are part of our lexicon. So, by the way, are idioms: "Let me at 'em!" and "Don't do it to me again" are two.

I have bitten my tongue long enough. Magus, I totally agree with you. Some people just love to listen to themselves talk (or write, in this case). I believe God created "thinking" to keep us from constantly boring others to death.